Tools

About

Our teacher was a young woman from Valencia (pronounced ba-LEN-thia) who had followed her Irish boyfriend home from a holiday.

The thing that amazed her most about Ireland was that there were no fruit bowls on counters in Irish kitchens.

Seemed perfectly normal to me. I didn't grow up with a fruit bowl on the counter either.

In Spain a kitchen is not complete without an overflowing fruit bowl for family and guests to enjoy.

Now I have 2 or 3, depending on the season.

In winter, I fill the big, hand-painted bowl from Spain with oranges, Clementine's, bananas and avocados. The kiwi fruit go in a separate basket - they cause the citrus to rot.

In summer I fill 3 or more bowls with peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, grapes and tomatoes.

I fill them at least once a week. Because they are there, on the counter, in full view, the fruit gets eaten.

Next to them, in a big basket, I keep walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds in the shell.

They're great to snack on when you're just looking for a bit of crunch.... And the fact that you have to crack the nut first, then pick out the meat before you eat it is a great deterrent to eating too many.

Our snack foods are fruits and nuts.

We don't bother with the other kind....

Lots of people put spinach or courgette or aubergine (eggplant) in their lasagne....

I had to be different.

To make certain the vegetables were done I sautéed them first... Then I decided I might as well make the Béchamel right in the skillet with the vegetables. Always with an eye to the easy.....